Evergrande's Xie Jia Yin Sentenced to Life Imprisonment, All Personal Assets Confiscated

On October 20, 2023 (Thursday), the Intermediate People's Court of Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China, held a first-instance public trial for the defendants Evergrande Group, Evergrande Real Estate, and defendant Xie Jia Yin. The court applied multiple charges to Evergrande Group and imposed a fine of 88.2 billion yuan. Evergrande Real Estate was fined 70 billion yuan, and Xie Jia Yin was sentenced to life imprisonment, deprivation of political rights for life, and confiscation of all personal assets. The court also ordered the continued recovery of illegal gains, with any shortfall to be compensated. According to the court's investigation, Xie Jia Yin was the actual controller of Evergrande Group, fully responsible for the group's operations. He managed and controlled multiple companies, including Evergrande Real Estate, Evergrande Wealth, and Evergrande Nanchang, investing in real estate, property management, and finance. Between 2016 and 2021, Evergrande Group, Evergrande Real Estate, and Xie Jia Yin violated national laws, engaging in continuous and large-scale financial fraud, inflating assets, and concealing liabilities. They illegally absorbed public deposits, engaged in fundraising fraud, securities issuance fraud, and illegal disclosure of important information. Evergrande Group and Xie Jia Yin obtained control of financial institutions through bribery, illegally diverting credit funds and insurance funds for use by Evergrande Group. They committed crimes such as unit bribery, illegal lending, and illegal use of funds. Xie Jia Yin also used his position as chairman of Evergrande Real Estate to organize financial fraud and embezzle company assets under the guise of dividends. The court ruled that the criminal acts of Evergrande Group, Evergrande Real Estate, and Xie Jia Yin seriously disrupted the socialist market economic order, infringed upon public and private property rights, and compromised the integrity of state officials' duties. The crimes involved especially large amounts, especially malicious intent, caused especially serious economic losses, and posed especially serious social harm.